Free shipping and discounts. Tips to attract the shoppers

Online retailers use more free-shipping offers and bigger discounts to get shoppers clicking on Cyber Monday.There was some proof that the effort put to make the day an online equivalent of Black Friday was working. 

Last year, online sales on this day were up 21%, $730 million. This fact could serve as a barometer for how the rest of the online holiday shopping season is going to continue.Some online retailers said consumers were buying less expensive gifts on Monday than in previous years. And many added they expected less sales gains for this holiday season than in previous years. According to a survey of 100 retailer's chief marketing officers conducted by BDO Seidman LLP, online sales for Cyber Monday are expected to grow by 2.4% over last year.

Nonetheless, consumers responded to the discounts and free shipping offers made for Cyber Monday. Such discounts caught the eye of shoppers like Jessica Beard of Wilmington, N.C. She visited Gap.com, Target.com, Express LLC's Express.com and Bath and Body Works, a division of Limited Brands, Inc. on Monday looking for discounts. At Buy.com, the site had doubled its sales and traffic by mid-afternoon Monday.

Other online retailers stated despite high traffic, consumers were spending less per order. Scott Savitz, chief executive of Shoebuy.com, said shoppers spent $50 - $200 on orders, against $1,000 last year.

Some online retailers saw sales growth during Black Friday and the Thanksgiving weekend only to slow down on Cyber Monday. Chris Hardisty, director of global ecommerce for Timberland Co., stated that customers in the past visited stores during the weekend and shopped online on Monday, while this year they went to its stores on Friday and went online over the weekend.